Butchers are being urged to start preparing for National Butchers' Week 2015 and the new #butcherisbetter campaign.

Independent retailers throughout the UK will be taking part in the week, which runs from 23-29 March, in which shoppers will be reminded that butchers remain the number one choice for range, service and convenience when it comes to purchasing meat.

“National Butchers’ Week (NBW), which is going into its eighth year, aims to support and strengthen that view and give butchers an opportunity to set out their stall for consumers, who traditionally may have avoided the high street when it comes to buying their meat.”

With that added focus on the high street, the 2015 campaign will build on the work of previous years, which saw MTJ launch the very successful ‘Idiot’s Guide to the Butcher’, and the longer-running campaign of ‘Ask the Expert’. The week will see a focus on the benefits of shopping at the butcher and will be supported by a range of PR tactics, and a social media campaign using the hashtag #butcherisbetter.

“We’ll be encouraging both the trade and consumers to tweet about the great experience that can be found using the butcher’s shop, and spread the word that the #butcherisbetter,” Bedington said.The week will also look at the evolution of the high street butcher and how, while the technology and trends have evolved over time, the butcher is still performing the same function of providing high-quality meat to consumers.